Page 34 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2015

PEOPLE natural parenting
MATERNALINSTINCT
Young mother on a mission for healthier Gulf Coast babies
story by Lynn Lofton photo by John Stricklin
From life’s problems often come solutions that bring growth and a desire to help others. Such is the case with 24-year-old Hallie Waldrep of Pascagoula. She wants to improve parenting awareness and health statistics for babies on the Gulf Coast.
Waldrep is the daughter of Bruce
and Linda Grimes of Pascagoula, and has two daughters, Charlotte and Isabella. She became a mother while still a teenager and recalls the lack of information she received. “I wanted to breastfeed and was told ‘just give the baby a bottle, it’ll be okay,’” she said. “That’s all I was told.”
Daughter Charlotte is now five. Waldrep’s daughter Isabella was born 14 months ago in Huntsville, Ala., and is allergic to disposable diapers. Waldrep moved back to Pascagoula to be near her family.
Finding cloth diapers and other natural products, as well as information on natural parenting, was a challenge. “I saw there was nothing like the things we needed here and reached out to other moms who also had a need for parenting programs,” she said.
With certified car seat technicians India Williams and Katelyn Terry, Waldrep launched Moms in Black, a nonprofit outreach program, at the Pascagoula Public Library in May. “We have three factions of the program
and we donate to them as much as we are able through boxes based on the popular Finnish Baby Box,” Waldrep said.
Moms in Black participants are required to attend a full rotation of the group’s core classes — baby wearing, breastfeeding and car seat safety —
34 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • October 2015
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